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5 Reasons The Cleveland Cavaliers Aren’t Locks To Win The East

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 22, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Jan 29, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) talks with guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 107-91. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

1. The Defense

If any team deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to “flipping the switch,” it’s a defending champion, LeBron James-led Cavaliers team. However, Cleveland will have one hell of a switch to flip when it comes to the defensive end, where the effort has been lackluster all season.

On the season, the Cavs’ defensive numbers are fairly alarming, even for a team with the NBA’s fourth best record:

  • Defensive Rating:  107.7 (22nd in the NBA)
  • Opponent FG%:  45.7% (15th)
  • Opponent 3P%:  36.5% (21st)
  • Rebounding Percentage:  49.5% (20th)

Since the All-Star break, those numbers have gotten even worse, plummeting to concerning new lows:

  • Defensive Rating:  112.6 (29th)
  • Opponent FG%:  46.2% (19th)
  • Opponent 3P%:  37.6% (24th)
  • Rebounding Percentage:  48.1% (26th)

This is not the same as last year’s championship team, which ranked 10th in defensive rating heading into the postseason. From LeBron to Kyrie to Love to the edges of the roster, this team has simply not cared enough about playing defense.

Their third-ranked offense usually more than makes up for their bottom-third defense, but it’s gotten so bad recently that the Cavaliers have lost eight of their last 14 games behind poor defensive efforts.

That needs to change in the playoffs, or the defending champs could find their backs against the wall well before the conference finals even arrive.

Maybe Cleveland will flip the switch when the games matter and LeBron simply stops allowing his team to lose, but this Cavs defense is as vulnerable as it’s ever been over the last three years. It’d take a drastic overnight turnaround to make the Cavaliers look like overwhelming locks to win the East again.

Next: 10 Matchups We Want To See In The 2017 NBA Playoffs

For like the 23rd time, we should emphasize that the Cleveland Cavaliers should still be the favorites to represent the East in the 2017 NBA Finals. But it’s not as set in stone as we once thought, and there are plenty of reasons to believe this team is more vulnerable than Cavs fans are comfortable with as the playoffs approach.

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